Effect of dietary dried tomato pulp on oxidative stability of Japanese quail meat

Ninety, 21-day-old, Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) divided into three groups with five subgroups each were fed a basal diet that served as control or a basal diet containing 5 or 10% of dried tomato pulp (DTP), a byproduct of the tomato-processing industry. The DTP contained lycopene and beta-carotene at 281 and 24.3 mg kg-1 of dry weight, respectively. On day 42 of age, birds were slaughtered, and carcasses were trimmed for breast meat. To assess the effect of dietary treatment on the oxidative stability of raw and cooked meat, raw meat was subjected to iron-induced lipid oxidation, whereas both raw and cooked meats were subjected to refrigerated storage at 4 °C. The extent of lipid oxidation was determined on the basis of the malondialdehyde (MDA) formed through the use of third-order derivative spectrophotometry. Results showed that after 6 and 9 days of refrigerated storage, MDA values in raw meat were increased. The increase was higher (P < 0.05) for the 10% DTP group and lower (P < 0.05) for the 5% DTP group, compared to control. An analogous oxidation profile was observed for cooked meat at 3, 6, and 9 days of storage. Iron-induced lipid oxidation of raw meat showed that the 10% DTP group as well as the control group exhibited MDA values that did not differ (P > 0.05) from each other at all time points, whereas the 5% DTP group presented MDA values that, although not differing from those of the other groups at 0 and 50 min, were significantly (P < 0.05) lower than those of the other groups at 100 and 150 min of iron-induced lipid oxidation. These results suggested that inclusion of dried tomato pulp in feed at a level of 5% exerted an antioxidant effect, whereas addition at level of 10% exerted a prooxidant effect. Mean alpha-tocopherol levels in the control, 5% DTP, and 10% DTP groups were 2.2, 2.1, and 1.4 mg kg-1 of meat, respectively. Fatty acid analysis showed that the 10% DTP group had a higher (P < 0.05) content of total polyunsaturated fatty acids and a greater (P < 0.05) unsaturated/saturated fatty acid ratio compared to control. There might be an interaction between DTP and alpha-tocopherol that is of importance for the balance between pro- and antioxidative activities. Future experiments should be designed to explore the interaction between individual carotenoids and tocopherols in order to better elucidate their role in oxidative changes.